Trash Pandas drop bizarre 13-12 decision to Biscuits in 11 innings
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Rocket City Trash Pandas (4-8) and Montgomery Biscuits (7-5) played their second-straight extra-inning game on Friday night that included a six-run inning, an 11-run inning, four position players pitching, and ultimately resulted in a Biscuits' 13-12 victory in 11 innings. Rocket City jumped out to a
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Rocket City Trash Pandas (4-8) and Montgomery Biscuits (7-5) played their second-straight extra-inning game on Friday night that included a six-run inning, an 11-run inning, four position players pitching, and ultimately resulted in a Biscuits' 13-12 victory in 11 innings.
Rocket City jumped out to a big lead for the second consecutive night. Christian Moore and Nelson Rada drew walks to start the game, and with one out, Denzer Guzman singled to load the bases. Jackson Baumeister, who started for the Biscuits, issued a wild pitch that allowed Moore to score the first run. Travis Blankenhorn recorded his first hit of the series with a single to right field, bringing in two runs and extending the score to 3-0. Sam Brown added a third consecutive hit to load the bases again. Tucker Flint hit a two-run double with two outs, increasing the lead to 5-0, matching the scoring output from Thursday's first inning. The ninth batter of the inning, Josh Crouch, then singled, scoring the sixth run. Moore came to the plate again and drew another walk, but Rada struck out, ending the big inning. The Pandas scored 11 combined runs in the first inning on Thursday and Friday after not scoring a run in the opening frame in their first 10 games.
After a quick first inning that included two strikeouts for Rocket City starter Walbert Urena, who threw only 13 pitches, the second inning proved challenging. Urena threw 39 pitches and failed to record an out. The first three Montgomery batters drew walks, followed by three straight RBI singles from Willy Vasquez, Ricardo Genovis, and Hunter Stovall. Homer Bush Jr. came close to hitting a grand slam, ultimately settling for a two-run double that brought the Biscuits within a run at 6-5. Matthew Etzel walked, leading to Urena being lifted for Nick Jones. The left-hander managed to strike out Colton Ledbetter for the first out, but Brayden Taylor launched a grand slam to right field, putting the Biscuits ahead 9-6. Will Simpson followed the slam with a double, and Tatem Levens capped off the 11-run inning with a two-run homer. The 11 runs scored in that inning were just one shy of the most ever in an inning for Montgomery and marked the most surrendered by Rocket City pitchers, surpassing the 10 runs scored by the Tennessee Smokies on August 11, 2021, also in the second inning.
Urena exited his third start, allowing eight runs on four hits, walking four batters, and striking out two in just 1+ innings. Jones managed to throw 2.2 innings of relief, giving the Trash Pandas some innings while allowing three runs on six hits, but he walked no batters and struck out two.
Rocket City responded with three runs in the top of the fourth inning. Crouch doubled and then scored on a one-out RBI double from Rada. Cole Fontenelle singled home Rada, trimming the deficit to 11-9.
Houston Harding continued to be a reliable option out of the bullpen, delivering 3.1 scoreless innings while allowing just two hits, walking one, and striking out five.
With Montgomery out of pitching, they turned to utility player Kamren James to take the mound in the ninth inning. The 24-year-old showcased a knuckleball and issued walks to Brown and Sonny DiChiara to start the inning. Brown advanced to third on a flyout by Flint, placing runners at the corners. Caleb Ketchup pinch-ran for DiChiara and stole second base. Brown then scored on an errant throw from the catcher Tatem Levins, narrowing the score to a one-run game. Crouch hit a sacrifice fly to left field, allowing Ketchup to score, and the game was tied at 11-11.
As the game moved into extra innings, the Biscuits called upon their starting designated hitter and reserve catcher, Ricardo Genovis, to pitch. The Trash Pandas sent six batters to the plate but managed only one run on a sacrifice fly by Brown, leaving the bases loaded for the second time in three innings.
Montgomery tied the score at 12-12 in the bottom of the 10th, sending the game into the 11th inning. Former Mississippi State star infielder Hunter Stovall (W, 1-0), who started at shortstop, pitched a scoreless 11th for Montgomery.
The Trash Pandas sent catcher Myles Emmerson (L, 0-1) to the mound in the bottom of the 12th. Ultimately, the Biscuits secured a two-out, game-winning RBI single by Willie Vasquez to walk off with a 13-12 victory.
The game took 3 hours 41 minutes and featured 13 pitchers overall, four of which were thrown by position players and a combined 20 runners left on base. The Trash Pandas left 12 runners on base but finished 7-for-21 with runners in scoring position.
The Trash Pandas and Biscuits will meet again Saturday evening at Riverwalk Stadium. Left-handed pitcher Samuel Aldegheri (0-0, 3.12) will start for the Trash Pandas against right-handed pitcher Ty Cummings (0-1, 4.50). The first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM, with coverage beginning at 5:50 PM on 97.7 HD-2 or through trashpandasbaseball.com. The game can also be viewed on MiLB.tv and Bally Live.
The second homestand for the Rocket City Trash Pandas runs from Tuesday, April 22-27, against the Birmingham Barons at Toyota Field. Tuesday, April 22, features a Caden Dana bobblehead for the first 1,500 fans 18 and over presented by SportsMed. Wednesday, April 23, is another Education Day Matinee with a special 11:05 am first pitch. Thursday, April 24, is Comic and Pop Culture Night, presented by Storm Guard Roofing and includes appearances by Priscilla Presley, George Newbern, and Walter Jones. Friday, April 25, is another spectacular Post-Game Fireworks Show! The weekend will feature special appearances from the ZOOperstars! on Saturday, April 26, and Bluey on Sunday, April 27.
Tickets are available starting at just $8 for general admission and $16 for field-level seats. They can be purchased online at tptix.com. Fans can also purchase tickets in person during regular business hours at the Wicks Family Foundation Box Office or by calling 256-325-1403, option 1. Fans can book their group outings for the 2025 season by visiting trashpandasgroups.com or by calling the group sales department directly at (256) 325-1403, option 2. 20-game mini-plans are also available at tptix.com.
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